In 1886, an American Evangelist named William Blackstone returned home from a trip to Palestine. Inspired, he composed a petition to then-President Benjamin Harrison requesting that he “consider the condition of the Israelites and their claims to Palestine as their ancient home,” since Jews have as much right to a state in their homeland as Serbs and Bulgarians do in theirs. The petition received over 400 signatures from such prominent figures as John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan. This was but one noteworthy instance in the long history of Christian sympathy with Zionism, the topic of a recent book by Samuel Goldman, who discusses it here. (Interview by Jonathan Silver. Audio, about one hour.)
Read more on Tikvah: https://tikvahfund.org/library/podcast-samuel-goldman-christian-zionism-america/